One of the more interesting man-made features of the Haast Pass road between Lake Hawea and Haast seems likely to be around for a good few years yet.
The single-lane Gates of Haast bridge, in the Mt Aspiring National Park, is up for replacement at a cost of between $20 million and $100 million, according to the New Zealand Transport Agency's website.
However, when approached by the Otago Daily Times this week for a progress report, the agency's regional state highways manager, Colin Knaggs, said it would take another 12 months to finish the design phase for the new bridge and its approaches.
Land swaps with the Department of Conservation also still had to be completed.
And so far, funding had only been provided for the design work.
Mr Knaggs said there was nothing wrong with the existing bridge and the only reason a replacement was being considered was the cost of maintaining the road on the approaches to the bridge.
The approaches were in an area with potential for landslips but Mr Knaggs said the agency did not believe the risk was high.
"Because the current bridge has plenty of life left in it and does not need replacing, we have not locked in a specific construction timeline for a new one."
The 48m bridge, built 50 years ago, remains a picturesque popular stopping spot for tourists.
